Library – Page 42 – Baller Stokes & Lide, PC

Verizon admits Penn. barrier to municipal entry was a “debacle”

After years of fighting to protect the rights of municipalities to provide broadband and other telecom services, Jim Baller, an attorney with the Baller-Herbst Law Group, has to admit he’s breathing a lot easier these days.

CALEA regulations

Communications Workers of America: Speed Matters

APPA report on battles over state barriers (2006)

Communities across the United States are working to bring broadband to their residents. Often, they are working with the private sector to provide services. But where private companies are unwilling or unable to meet local needs as fast as the community demands, some municipal governments are considering providing advanced communications networks and services themselves. Incumbent telecommunications companies and cable operators have often responded with fierce opposition and launch efforts to obtain state laws obstructing municipal broadband initiatives. Municipalities in Indiana faced such a fight this year — and secured a victory.

Optical Ring Safeguards City Power Utility Plus Local Jobs

A Cisco optical network in Auburn, Indiana, serves the public electric utility, scaling up to retain a major employer.

Pirating Privacy – NATOA Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, August 25, 2006

Hidden Treasures – NATOA Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, August 23, 2006

Public Wireless Initiatives Today and Tomorrow – NATOA Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, August 23, 2006

Largest NuComm International to Locate in Lafayette, La.

Canadian contact center leader’s second U.S. location in Lafayette will create up to 1000 jobs within a year to boost Louisiana’s economy

Business and Political Considerations – PTI Community Broadband Summit, Chicago, IL, July 17, 2006

Jim Baller Interview by Glenn Fleishman, WiFi Networking News

“We talked today about a bit of history, starting with electrification 100 years ago, through the Pennsylvania and Philadelphia saga of 2004, finishing up with the Net Neutrality’s current drafts of laws in Congress that include provisions to level the playing fields for municipal broadband. Baller notes that the versions before Congress don’t tip the balance to towns and cities; rather, they require municipal entities to go through a reasonable process before building network.”